The Gift of Focusing
Focusing teaches us to think, sense, feel and stay open to new possibilities, to ‘more’ - like poets, artists, and ‘break-through-scientists’. We learn to dip below the surface of the known and reach beyond the thinkable, to stay open in a paradox of being and living, vulnerable to desired change that gives birth to ‘new us’.
First, we learn to pause and re-connect with the richness of our experience of the present moment, and gently go below the reactive surface level into the deep layer of primary, core feelings, needs and longings. In this process, every layer has to be ‘unlocked’ with a symbol that is like a very specific key that opens the door to go further. We have to wait here for the symbol to form itself and we then check back if it ‘fits’. And like with the keys, we sometimes try a few until the right one ‘clicks’ and the door opens. That opening, subtle or very distinct, is always felt in the body. Something inside changes… we go forward, with every step we are more in touch with what is true and alive in ourselves.
Maybe this sounds little daunting and not so easy to imagine. Yes, there is a combination of depth, wonder and mystery in this process, a combination of technique and an artistic sense. Yes, there is often this inner feeling of excitement and trepidation, it's similar to when an artist stands in front of the blank canvas, clear paper, or holds an instrument. It is like facing a ‘not yet known’ and allowing it to come knowing that we can’t make it come. A something inside wants our attention, wants to be seen, listened to and known. It wants to take a form, to become a word, an image, a sound, or movement… It holds some meaning, something relevant to our life or to the situation we are currently in. And it wants to be listened to…
The gift of Focusing is re-discovering, polishing and fine-tuning our ‘inner compass’, a reliable guide to self-knowing and creative expression, that helps us navigate the complexities of relationships and make our life choices. Once learned and refined with practice, it is always there, available and ready to be used, something that nobody can take away.
Focusing opens the door to the subtle currents of being which guide us toward what is right, true and real for us in our own lives. It gives a voice to something in us that didn’t have a voice before and unifies us into a better integrated ‘whole’ with its gentleness and acceptance.
